Radio programme - the language of bereavement and grief

This engaging BBC Radio 4 programme includes interviews with Winston's Wish staff on how children understand and talk about death & grief. Winston's Wish is a charity for children who have lost a parent, brother or sister. Michael Rosen, the journalist, sits in on a training session for teachers and carers in Cheltenham, and discovers how the language we use can either confuse or comfort young children. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pp5v8

Physical & developmental effects of childhood bereavement - New studies

'Father & Daughter ' (c) Helene Souza

Examining potential correlations between childhood bereavement and long term adverse mental and physical effects continues to provide considerable ground for research.   

Two recent studies present new insights into little explored long term issues for parentally bereaved children.

Brent et al in 'Longitudinal effects of parental bereavement on adolescent developmental competence' examine the extent to which sudden parental bereavement in childhood hinders developmental competency. Their  longitudinal study reported outcomes for 126 children who had experienced a sudden parental death, comparing to a similar non bereaved control group at various intervals up to 5 years post bereavement.
Their findings indicated children who had experienced sudden loss of a parent illustrated less competence in educational development, career planning and peer relations into adulthood.

Dietz et al in an article pre published this week in Biological Psychiatry examine cortisol response in parentally bereaved children. 

Their research which sampled cortisol in 181 bereaved and non bereaved subjects over a 5 year period found a higher cortisol output in children who had experienced parental bereavement. 
They conclude that this higher incidence of cortisol may represent an increased health risk worthy of further study.    

UK seminar on children and bereavement

Children and Bereavement

A Seminar in University of Bath, UK on  7 December 2012 10.00 – 13.00

The seminar will feature the following:

 

Dr Ana Draper, Macmillan Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist

'The associations between Parental Childhood Bereavement and Delinquent Behaviour'

Dr Ana Draper is a Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist working in the Community Palliative Care team in Hertfordshire. She has developed and clinical supported a multi-system therapeutic service working with bereaved families and has been a consultant for the Childhood Bereavement Network. She has authored information and therapeutic story books for parents and children as well as academic papers on therapeutic work in palliative care. She has spoken at the House of Commons about issues concerning childhood bereavement, as well as teaching modules and short courses at the Tavistock Mental Health Trust, KCC foundation and Kings College, London. She has also supported NGO’s in Malawi and Ecuador by providing training for clinicians working in a palliative setting.

 

Dr Rachel Fearnley, CDAS Associate and Teaching Fellow, University of Bath

‘The Communication Continuum: Research into Practice’

This seminar presentation explores the importance of communicating with children when a parent or significant person has a life threatening illness. Parents and professionals are often mindful of talking to the children about the illness and possible death of the parent. However, there is growing research that highlights the importance of talking with children and the negative consequences when these conversations do not take place. The Communication Continuum is a model that offers a practical resource when working with children who are living with a parent (or other significant person) who has a life threatening illness. Drawing on the work of Glaser and Strauss the model can provide a practical tool for practitioners when they are assessing the quality and quantity of information that children have about their parent’s illness.

Rachel Fearnley’s PhD explored children’s experiences when a parent is at the end of life. Rachel is a CDAS associate and teaching fellow at the University of Bath and an independent researcher / consultant. Rachel is a qualified and registered social worker.

 

Dr Jane McCarthy, Department of Social Policy and Criminology, Open University.

Title tbc

Jane is the author of 'Young People's Experiences of Bereavement and Loss: Towards an Inter-disciplinary Approach', 2006, Open University Press.

 

Please use the University of Bath online booking system to book your place on this seminar: http://store.bath.ac.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=155&modid=1&compid=1

 

Attendance at all CDAS seminars is free of charge.

Details of this and all seminars in the series can be found on our website:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/cdas/news/seminar/index.html

New study investigates impact of death of infant sibling on children

Peace-innocent-kids Via Flickr

New research published this week in The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine examines the impact the death of a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit can have on a sibling. 

'Loss in the NICU: Sibling Matters' by Sanders, Robinson & Carter outlines a methodology including a scripted intervew and facial expression rating adapted from the Wong-Baker FACES pain scale  

While the authors detail difficulty in  accessing the full identified cohort for interview the study does highlight the lack of research on the impact of the loss of a child in the NICU on siblings and indicate avenues for further study.   

Abstract for the study is available HERE and copies are available on request from the Irish Hospice Foundation Library 

Interview on ICBN on John Murray show

Nuala Harmey, bereavement support social worker with Temple Street children's hospital and Geraldine Parsons who lost her two brothers at the age of ten appeared on the John Murray show this morning (July 24th)

Geraldine and Nuala discuss the long term impact of a bereavement in childhood and the importance of support for children following a bereavement

You can listen back to the interview HERE     

Interview with Dr Susan Delaney on Irish Childhood Bereavement Network

Dr Susan Delaney, Bereavement Services Manager Irish Hospice Foundation

If you would like to learn more about the aims of the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network you can listen to a short interview with Dr Susan Delaney, bereavement services manager at the Irish Hospice Foundation HERE    

Minister Frances Fitzgerald Launches the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network

L-R Sharon Foley, CEO Irish Hospice Foundation, Dr Susan Delaney, bereavement services manager Irish Hospice Foundation and Minister Frances Fitzgerald at the launch   

Minister Frances Fitzgerald has today launched the new Irish Childhood Bereavement Network in the offices of the Irish Hospice Foundation.
Speaking at the launch Minister Fitzgerald said the Network ''offers Ireland an opportunity to change the way it approaches childhood grief and could make a significant difference in facilitating the delivery of  appropriate resources for each grieving child.” 

View pictures of the launch HERE


The scoping study for the network undertaken by Dr Kathy Mc Loughlin highlighted the importance of bridging gaps in children's bereavement services and finding ways for service providers to share information and knowledge. The launch document, outlining the aims and objectives of the network can be viewed below 
   

Open publication

Professionals working in children's bereavement support are invited to subscribe to this blog for updates on the network and to register their interest.